Seven questions with Inshal Imtiaz

This week, meet Inshal Imtiaz, who is currently in his third year of Medicine doing an intercalated BSc in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering.

Inshal is a co-founder of the UCL MedTech Society, a fan of ice cream and has a top tip for exploring London by night.

1. Why are you interested in medicine and what do you plan to do in the future?

I guess everyone says they want to go into medicine to help people. As cliché as this might sound, this is exactly why I went into it. My motivation stems from being able to embark on a lifetime commitment to eliminating suffering of individuals. I want to be able to apply my scientific knowledge and contribute to the betterment of society. There are very few careers that will let you impact people's lives in such a drastic way. But I do not want to stop there, I want to improve and innovate in one of the most dynamic and continually changing fields. This year, I am studying an intercalated BSc in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering. It was a choice that was very natural to me, it let me combine my two passions, medicine and engineering.

Ultimately, my goal would be to contribute to the revolution of medicine using innovative technology. Good healthcare is one of the basic human rights, and if one day I am able to say I have helped this in any way, I would have achieved my lifelong goal.

2. What is the most interesting thing you've done, seen or got involved with while at UCL?

It would have to be, being involved in forming the UCL MedTech Society with my friend Halimat Afolabi. UCL MedTech Society is an interdisciplinary collective of students with a common interest in using technology to solve problems in healthcare. We have so many events planned over the upcoming year from exciting talks from the forefront leaders in the field, to coding workshops, hackathons to cater every level and various others. We have a brilliant committee with various backgrounds working very hard to make these events into a reality.

What I am personally interested in, is creating an initiative to bring people together from all disciplines across UCL to develop ideas in regards to 'MedTech for Global Health'. I think the advantages of medical technology are endless and these can make healthcare more accessible, particularly in underdeveloped areas. The aim would be to get students from different departments to come together and create low cost solutions.  As a result, this could one day be applicable in the real world and could potentially save many lives.

3. Have you discovered any 'hidden gems' during your time at UCL?

A year away from medicine has allowed me to discover other places on campus, not just the cruciform building. I would definitely recommend the view from the 8th floor of the Malet Place Engineering Building. It has quite a scenic view of London.

4. Give us your top three things to do/see/go to in London.

1. Santander Cycles (Boris Bikes) at night. It is quite peaceful and lets you discover London whilst the city is asleep.
2. Karak and Chapati in Knightsbridge. Their 'Karak' tea is by far the best I have ever had.
3. Sushi Samba, not only because the sushi is amazing but the view is like no other.

5. If you were Provost for the day what one thing would you do?

It's quite hard to pick one thing, there is so much that I would want to do. Maybe, install an ice-cream bar in the cruciform building. Who doesn't love ice cream?

6. Who inspires you and why?

One of my biggest inspirations is Elon Musk, best known for being the CEO of Tesla.

The main reason is that in the face of adversity he did not stop, he continued pursuing his goal. His company SpaceX received a lot of criticism, one of the most difficult being from his childhood hero, Neil Armstrong. Despite all this, he continued with his SpaceX rocket launch which was successful on the fourth attempt and proved everyone in what he believed in.

Given Elon Musk's track record, I am quite interested in his new venture into the medical technology field with his new company, Neuralink. According to Musk "company aims to make devices to treat serious brain diseases in the short-term, with the eventual goal of human enhancement". As a medical student, this is such an interesting phenomena to be looking at, it just adds to my already existing admiration of Elon Musk.

7. What would it surprise people to know about you?

A surprising fact about me is that, when I was younger I used to have my own TV show on an Asian channel.